New York – In a commanding display at Louis Armstrong Stadium, world number two Elena Rybakina advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open on Thursday. The Kazakh, who is eyeing a return to the top of the WTA rankings, defeated Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-2, 6-4.
Match highlights
Rybakina raced to a 3-0 lead in the opening set and wrapped it up in just thirty minutes. She continued her pressure in the second set, taking three of the first four games and maintaining a steady rhythm. Although she briefly lost her serve for the first time in the tournament, she quickly recovered, breaking again to close out the match.
“I’m really happy with this win today. In the second set she started to go for her shots but I’m happy I managed to close it out,” Rybakina said on court.
Looking ahead
With the victory, Rybakina will face Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva in the next round, after Starodubtseva rallied past 32nd seed Maria Sakkari. Rybakina also addressed concerns about her recent fitness, noting that she missed the Cincinnati Open due to a minor injury but has focused on recovery and gym work.
“It’s true it wasn’t perfect preparation at all. I was a bit upset watching everybody practice preparing for the tournament and I was just doing all possible recovery and gym. I’m super happy to be here,” she added.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
